The Customer You Are Trying To Reach
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, days 883a, 890a, 897a: She said she was on her way, and the longer it takes, the more Rachel worries.
1. The Customer You Are Trying To Reach

_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 42nd cycle. Now cycle 43!_

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><p><em><strong>INTRODUCING "CHEAT SHEET" - <strong>If you want to know ahead of time when a certain series will be updated next, just reassemble the link below and check out the list, save it, print it, bookmark it, whatever you need!  
>Go to: <span>gleekathon [dot] tumblr [dot] com [slash] cheatsheet<span>_

_** UPDATED WITH CYCLE 43 CHEAT SHEET ** Check it out to find out about **shift days**!_

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><p><em><strong>This is a shift day [see above].<strong> There will be another upload this afternoon: Familiar Strangers, chapter 1._

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><p><strong>"The Customer You Are Trying To Reach Is Not Available"<br>Rachel, Quinn, Will & New Directions, Parents... Faberry? Perhaps ;)**

**chapter 1 of 3 **

Finn had been upset that she'd asked him to postpone, but he would be just as happy to marry her the next day, or possibly the day after that, when Quinn would be there and they would be able to say that… everyone was there that… was supposed to be there… So why did she feel like a boulder had landed deep in her stomach?

She had been running the same sequence for something like ten minutes: check her text messages – nothing new, just the last one… _On my way_ – then she'd pace, tell herself everything was fine, keep telling herself, until she couldn't make herself believe again, but then the words would stop working and she'd need to check her messages again, like it would make her want to believe those words again. She was on her way, everything was fine.

"Call, just call her," she told herself, shaking her head and dialling her cell. She could see the rest of them following her pacing with their eyes. She frowned, quickening her steps to pass around the corner and out of sight. She'd just made it there when the recorded voice came on the line, letting her know the number could not be reached.

Whatever denial she'd been latching on to in the last little while, it was unceremoniously shoved aside to give way to fear. It wasn't her imagination now; something was wrong.

She'd tried Quinn's cell once more, and then a third time, but each time the same voice came on and she would hang up. With no other options at her disposal, she called the Fabray home. There was no answer, the call being picked up by the answering machine. This could mean anything really, but under the circumstances, it only made her more freaked out.

The rest of them had stayed, even though they were already past the time and there wouldn't be a wedding that day, but they'd probably be leaving soon. And as she was hurrying back to them, she saw a few of them were on their feet, aiming to leave. "Wait, something's wrong," she begged.

"Sweetheart, what's the matter?" Dad asked, coming up to her.

"It's Quinn, I…" she looked down to her phone. "She's not picking up, there's no connection, I don't know…" she shook her head.

"Maybe she changed her mind about coming," Santana shrugged.

"No," Rachel went on shaking her head. "No, she was coming, she should have been here by now, a-and when I call it's just a recorded message," she looked to her phone like it confused her.

"I'm sure everything's fine, she's just running late," Pop told her, but she couldn't bring herself to believe it, not anymore.

They were ready to call it a day, to go home, so they'd gone. Rachel couldn't go. She didn't know what was happening, and if it was true that nothing was wrong, then she'd stay right there and she would wait for her. Little by little the group had dwindled, and with the office closed they had come to wait outside, by the doors. It had come down to Rachel and her fathers, but eventually she'd let them go on home. She had to stay, stubbornly striding the line between denial and fear.

Then something had happened. They'd started coming back, her Glee Club. Each one that arrived seemed to have a look on his or her face like they'd made it to where she was now, mentally. The dread had gained them and now they worried for their missing member. A few would say they had tried texting, tried calling, with no results. Now the silent vigil was clueless to know how to proceed, where to go from there… If they went home, without knowing what was going on…

It had been all of them standing there for a while, and then someone else was approaching. Will came walking toward them and the closer he got, the more they could see his face…

"Oh no…" Tina had breathed.

Rachel had moved up to meet him, feet unsure but unable to stay away. "Where is she?" she asked, her breath and her voice just barely hanging on. Will looked to her, looked to the twelve anxious faces behind her. He looked shaken, as much as he was trying to stay strong, and soon they'd know why.

"After I left, I started making calls, trying to see what could have held Quinn back. I finally… I…" he paused, knowing what he was about to lay on them. "There's been an accident," he said the words they had all suspected, and still there was a run of gasps.

"Is she okay?" Puck asked.

"She's in the hospital, I don't know much," Will shook his head.

Rachel hadn't heard a thing after he'd shown up, it felt. She'd had plenty of time to imagine what could have happened, so his arrival had only confirmed it. All her thoughts were now honed in to one thing: she needed to go and be there with her, in whatever way they would allow her. After so much push and pull, they were now friends, they were… they were…

"What hospital?" was all she could say, and when he told her, she was moving. The others were on her heels, all of them splitting off into whatever cars they had at their disposal. Rachel rode with Will. Alone with her teacher, away from the others' eyes, she could allow herself to say ask the words she never wanted to have to ask again. "Is she… She's not going to…" She couldn't do it, and maybe her voice gave out to protect her. Will pulled the car over when he heard the shudder of a cry. He waited, let her work it out of her system. When she sniffled and looked to have regained some control, he pulled back on to the road.

With their pause, they were the last ones to arrive at the hospital. The rest of them were all sitting with Mrs. Fabray, who stood when the two of them arrived. She looked like she'd been crying a good deal already, and Rachel barely had time to register what this might mean that she was gathered in the woman's arms. "They told me you waited," she heard Judy's voice at her ear, sounding like a thank you.

"Is she okay? Can I see her?" Rachel asked as they pulled back and Judy gave the teacher's arm a thankful squeeze.

It would be a couple more hours before they were able to visit her. After Judy had gone, she'd given Rachel the go ahead. In the time they had waited, she'd called home to tell her fathers what was happening. They had come to wait as well, bringing their daughter clothes to change out of her wedding dress. A number of other parents had found their way to the waiting room, Emma as well, and even Sue. Walking to the room, Judy had told her that she was barely conscious at this point, and to take things slow. Rachel had given a careful nod, suddenly frightened at what she'd find.

Laid out in bed, the whole image made the awful feeling in the pit of her stomach get worse. She barely looked like herself, with the cuts, the bandages, the machines… Rachel's hand went to her mouth, swallowing back a gasp so she wouldn't hear her. If Judy hadn't told her that she was conscious, she wouldn't have known it. She stepped quietly toward the bed. "Quinn, I… I'm so sorry," she shook her head, reaching to wipe at errant tears on her face. It had felt like it for some time now, that this was in part because of her. If she hadn't kept texting her, she wouldn't have felt the need to reply, and then she would have seen… She breathed out, reaching for the blonde's hand. "You're going to be okay, alright? You have to be, I…"

She looked up and there saw Quinn's eyes were opened and fixed on her, happy or relieved to see her. Rachel let out the breath stuck in her throat. Quinn looked like she was trying to speak, but Rachel quickly shook her head.

"No, don't, it's okay, keep your strength she begged." Her eyes wouldn't leave her still, and Rachel could only wonder what was so important for her to need to say to her. She didn't know what would happen now, if the worst was over, but she had to hope that it was.

TO BE CONTINUED (NEXT THURSDAY)


	2. In the Blur and the Haze

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There will be another upload this afternoon: The Cautionary Tale of Lucy Collins, chapter 1._

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><p><strong>"In the Blur and the Haze"<strong>

**chapter 2 of 3**

For a moment, there had been nothing. A dark void had swallowed her whole, with nothing to hang on to. She didn't know that she could ever explain that feeling, of being in the process of doing something in one second, and then…

It had been loud, everywhere around her, everywhere… complete confusion, images that made no sense, swimming before her eyes before daylight turned to pitch black. Still it felt like after the darkness she had been dreaming, or… something. For a long time, she didn't know how long really, it felt as though someone had torn her head open and begun to pull out her memories like photos from an album, flashing them jarringly before her eyes.

She saw all of it, the good, the bad… the moments that made her laugh, and the ones that made her cry. Each one came at her with the feeling it inspired. The bad memories would stick to her, crawl at her or run into her, loud and harsh and hard. The good memories… it was as though they wanted to stay with her, breezing in softly and reassuringly, but in the chaos of those other memories they barely had time to touch her that they'd be shoved aside to disappear and they'd be gone.

She stood like a guiding line, from darkness to light, from the moment where everything had gone dark, to when the light eased and she could see again… Rachel. She'd see the words fly in. _On my way._ It was the last thing she remembered, but with that memory came everything else, the thing she'd been 'on her way' to. The wedding, her wedding, to him… In all the madness and the indecisions, the one thing that she'd come to know was that Rachel was a friend, and for that, Quinn had to be there, to support her. She'd said her piece, now it was up to Rachel to either go through with it or… She had to make her own decisions, Quinn couldn't make them for her.

In all that was happening now though, this odd place governed by her memories, there remained this sort of urgency, like she needed to get somewhere, needed to get to her. The bad things weighed her down, twisted around her limbs, blocked her path. And the good ones… the good ones tried to carry her forward, the good ones… so many of them had her face among them, it was impossible not to see her.

After a while, some things had started to change. She was following a new path now, and it wasn't so much about navigating the memories anymore, in fact they were falling away, she was leaving them, regained in darkness once more but only briefly before the light made its tentative return. It was muted and yet blinding after being in darkness for so long. It was the first thing that came, and then… sounds, also muted, or deafened, like her ears had popped or something. It would take some time more but then she'd begin to feel the aftermath of whatever had happened to her, to feel… the pain, so much pain and yet she wasn't moving… Maybe it was better if she didn't move.

The first bits of sound she began to recognize as human voices belonged to the doctor, the nurses… The first one she recognized was her mother's, still with something of a disconnected echo. Before long she began to understand where she was. The sounds and the sensations, they all came together to gather the conclusion that she was in the hospital. It would be a while longer before her memories realigned themselves, before she could know to think about what had happened to lead her here. They were telling her to relax, and of all things she could do, she would definitely do that.

She hadn't opened her eyes. She didn't know what would face her at this point, but she couldn't imagine it'd be good. She was scared, confused… Then there was a voice, a new one, a… The longer she spoke, the more Quinn felt herself awaken, until she could do no more than to tempt the odds and try to open her eyes. Like her hearing, everything was not perfect right away. There was a blur to all of it, but she kept listening, let the voice draw her out until her eyes could settle.

There she was, just as in those memories that had flashed in her mind, She had needed to get to her, and now there she was. As her eyes continued to settle, she kept them locked on her, just as her ears stuck to her voice. She didn't know that she was actually listening to or understanding the words yet, but she was hearing her and that was all she needed to do for now.

Just as her eyes had properly settled on her, Rachel had looked over, realized she was not only awake but looking at her. It was as though now that she could see her and know for sure that she was standing there, Quinn felt the need to tell her something. When she'd been driving there, her intentions were clear. She had told Rachel how she felt about this wedding before, and stressing that point would not get them anywhere.

But they were here now, and she didn't know… she didn't know… Had they gone through with it, was it done, were they married, was she… She tried to speak up, but Rachel stopped her. What could she have said? All she really seemed to want to know in that moment was if Rachel had actually gone and gotten married. How long had it been? Was it the same day, or had she fallen into a coma and it was days, weeks, months… It couldn't have been years, no way, but…

Rachel was telling her to stay calm, to relax, and maybe she was right… Maybe that was exactly what she should do. She would calm down, take time to make sense of everything so that when she could go ahead and talk to Rachel her head wouldn't be so muddled and… maybe she'd know what she was supposed to tell her. She may have given her reason as to why she thought marrying Finn would be a bad idea, but… that wasn't what she really needed to say. She needed time to sort it all out, and today she had very nearly lost all the time she'd ever get. She wouldn't make that mistake again.

TO BE CONCLUDED (NEXT THURSDAY)


	3. One Hand To Hold

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There will be another upload this afternoon: The Long Aloha, chapter 1._

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><p><strong>"One Hand To Hold"<strong>

**chapter 3 of 3**

The next few hours had been about settling back into wakefulness. Everybody was hovering about her, checking her over now that she was conscious. She just let them do what they needed to do, quietly so. Every once in a while though, all the talk, all the check-ups, would get to be too much and she'd start to panic. When that would happen, her eyes would go to the left.

Rachel had remained steadfast in her post, sitting on a chair in the corner. Mrs. Fabray was there a lot of the time, but often she would have to be out of the room, chasing down this thing and that person. Rachel didn't like the thought of Quinn being left alone right then, so she sat, and she stayed. When Quinn would look over, panic rising in her eyes, she would give her a small nod that meant 'it's going to be okay.' And eventually the blonde would calm.

When it was just the two of them, Rachel would get up, coming closer to the bed to stay in her line of sight. She still wasn't talking, not that Rachel asked her to. For now she was better off keeping calm. And as for her, Rachel would breach the static silence of the hospital room with whatever she could think of. Sometimes she'd worry that she'd just be boring Quinn, but when she'd look to her the blonde was just listening, attentive. She probably didn't care for the silence either. So Rachel kept talking.

At one time there had been talk of her having to leave, but she couldn't make herself leave, and neither her fathers nor Judy would force her out. She was halfway asleep on the small couch there when it wasn't her who broke the silence anymore.

"Where's my mother?" Quinn's voice came out frail, unused and strained. Rachel was startled into wakefulness and she got up.

"She's not far. Do you want me to get her?" Quinn's eyes were fixed on the ceiling, and Rachel could see the trace of a tear or two having rolled out of her eyes and down the side of her face, past her ear and on to the pillow. After a beat, she'd stepped up and taken her hand.

"No, it's alright," Quinn replied, breathing slowly in and out.

"Does it hurt to breathe?" Rachel asked, noticing.

"Getting easier," she told her, just as her face creased under pressure – she was afraid again.

"Hey, you're okay," Rachel hushed. "Didn't you hear them, they said things were looking good," she reminded, trying to pass on positivity.

"I know, I remember," Quinn promised, paused. "When I close my eyes, I see it again."

"See what?" Rachel frowned, then she blinked. "The… the accident?"

"It's the same five seconds, every time… I'm looking at my phone, I hear a horn, then I feel the impact and my phone shoots out of my hand and… nothing." She whimpered, new tears following the streaks already made. "Do you really think I'll be okay?"

"You're strong," Rachel told her, and now her own worries seemed to demand to be heard, if the sudden tremble in her voice was any indication. "And you've got… a whole future ahead of you. Can't pass that up," she went on, trying to smile even if it came out shaky. They were quiet for a moment, and Quinn decided she had to ask.

"Is it still today, I mean… the wedding and…"

"Well, by now it's…" Rachel looked to her watch, the mention of time briefly reawakening the fact that she was exhausted and she pinched her eyes shut for a second. "… the next day, but just barely." Quinn asked with a look, and Rachel replied with a shake of the head. "It didn't happen," she revealed. "I was worried that you weren't there, they were closing, I… I couldn't do it like that."

"But you will?" Quinn guessed. Rachel's answer wasn't immediate or expected.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure anymore," she bowed her head. "These last few hours sitting here, a couple times I would try to think about we would do, when we would go back there, and… I don't know." Again, silence swelled, with Rachel reflecting on events that never came and ones that did, and Quinn embracing the fact that maybe there really was such a thing as second chances. "I'm so sorry," Rachel spoke, and Quinn only vaguely recalled hearing her make this apology earlier, too.

"What for?"

"I shouldn't have kept texting you, I knew you were coming, and I distracted you…" she explained with all her fears unspooled.

"Rachel, don't," she begged, not wanting to see her blame herself. "I shouldn't have been answering. I should have had my eyes on the road, but I didn't. And I keep thinking… I could have prevented this. But… it happened," she breathed. "And now I'm here. There has to be a reason, right?" Rachel silently nodded in agreement, though Quinn doubted she knew what she was getting at. Quinn wasn't sure she did, either. "I think when I was unconscious I was dreaming," she revealed.

"What did you dream about?" Rachel asked.

"It's kind of hazy now," Quinn admitted. "Except one thing, I… I kept seeing you."

"You did?"

"I think I knew I had to get to you. More than anything, I had to get to you."

"Because I was being such a pain?" Rachel guessed, but Quinn shook her head.

"I was going to be there for the wedding, if that was what you wanted," she told her.

"But you didn't think it should happen," Rachel knew.

"I didn't… I didn't want it to happen," Quinn corrected her, and Rachel looked up. "There's a difference."

"Yes, there is," she took one small step forward, needing to stop and take this in. "Why didn't… Why wouldn't…"

She stopped, caught her breath, which was quickly being spent. She found formulating some sort of response to be the hardest thing. The longer it took her to come up with words though, the easiest it was for memories to replay themselves in her mind, under the glare of a new light. Now she was starting to question what it was that had made her hold off the wedding. Yes, she wanted Quinn there, but time was running out, plans had been made… In the end Quinn's presence had mattered more than the actual marriage to Finn. She had taken precedence. Sure, they were friends now, but it was hardly the whole story.

She inhaled deep, still feeling Quinn's hand in both of her own. She didn't understand everything that was happening, not completely, but she couldn't deny things weren't as they had been on that morning. What had remained subconscious, unspoken, now stood on the edge of emerging.

"I… Are you thirsty, I can get you…" she started looking around, slightly frazzled.

"Rachel?" Quinn called her back. When she'd looked back at her, the blonde showed brief hesitation. "Will you stay with me? Please?" Rachel found her calm, in needing to reassure her.

"I'm not going anywhere," she vowed.

THE END


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